(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday asked Louisiana's top state court to decide whether a law protecting environmental whistleblowers from retaliation extends to workers who report illegal activity as part of their regular job duties.
A three-judge 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel certified questions to the Louisiana Supreme Court in a case accusing natural gas company Targa Resources of firing an employee for refusing to comply with his manager's directive to dilute water samples used to test compliance with environmental standards.
Louisiana is a key state for oil and gas production, and the industry employs tens of thousands of workers there. The state has had its share of drilling-related disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon explosion in 2010, which resulted in the largest marine oil spill ever.
Houston-based Targa is appealing a federal judge's ruling that awarded about $157,000 to the plaintiff, Kirk Menard, after a bench trial. The company claims Menard, who was an environmental, safety and health specialist, was not engaged in protected activity under the whistleblower law because he reported the manager to a supervisor as part of his normal job duties.
The 5th Circuit also asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to decide whether a worker's refusal to engage in...
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